It has been almost two years since the China-funded Myitsone dam project in north Myanmar was suspended by the Myanmese government. The government's move was hailed by some Western countries at that time.
Two years have passed. It is unknown where those who paid considerable attention to the interests of Myanmese have vanished to, while people in north Myanmar are still living in the dark.
The suspension of the Myitsone dam has brought huge losses to both China and Myanmar. The Myanmese who lost their jobs due to the suspension may be forced back into poverty again.
In the past two years, one explanation has dominated people's minds: This project will not benefit Myanmese but only China.
Such claims are groundless. According to the agreement between China and Myanmar, Myanmar will get 10 percent of the electricity produced for free and 15 percent of shares in the project.
Besides, the Myanmese government can charge a withholding tax and an export tax. Myanmar would receive $17 billion from the project over the contracted 50-year period. After 50 years, the government would totally own the project, free of charge.
For a long time, the reason for the suspension of this project given by Western media is that the construction of the dam would destroy the local ecology. Therefore, the suspension also won support from many NGOs.
On the surface, it seems that environmental concerns are the main obstacle to restarting this project. But in reality, the key is the conflict between the military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) that affects the peace process in north Myanmar.
The Myitsone project is located in Kachin state where there is great friction between the military and the KIA.
Chinese enterprises which start projects there face the trouble of "two governments."
While they sign agreements with the Myanmese government, they have to take Kachin's interest into consideration. Meanwhile, such consideration cannot go beyond the framework of the agreement signed with the Myanmese government.
As a result, Chinese enterprises have been caught in a dilemma. Chinese scholars used to say if China was to develop in Myanmar, it had to respect local ethnic minority groups and couldn't only deal with the government.
This is reasonable but hardly practical. Chinese enterprises cannot handle ethnic minority independent army by passing over the Myanmese government. It would not help the ethnic reconciliation process in Myanmar either.
While both want to coerce the other by winning the support of China, huge projects like the Myitsone project can hardly operate smoothly and will be taken as a bargaining chip.
But China could do something to make the project restart. China can be the driving force of ethnic reconciliation in north Myanmar, no matter whether pulling the country economically or pushing it geopolitically.
China can do a lot to push the Myanmese government to respect the rights of ethnic minorities and make the two cooperate to create a peaceful order.
If China succeeds in doing so, it will win trust from both sides and set the condition for restarting the Myitsone project.
China has many other important projects in Myanmar such as pipelines and copper mines. These projects are also facing the troubles of ethnic conflicts and different interests.
These problems are more about politics than the economy. Handling these by economic means will not solve the long-term trouble.
Only by helping Myanmar achieve a unified government and by letting the Myanmese public enjoy the benefits of China's investment there within the framework of a unified state can a solid foundation be established for China-Myanmar economic cooperation.
The author is a senior editor with People's Daily.
